3197 
SC5JI 


'ITH 


. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Carle ton  Shay 


PS  YS  SMITHS 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


LOST 


CHRIST 


SMITH 


Copyright,  1909,  by  George  H.  Doran  Company 
HODDER       AND        STOUGHTON 

NEW        Y  ',O     R     K 
GEORGE        H.       DORAN        COMPANY 


:sv 

3797 


THE    LOST    CHRIST 


"But  they,  supposing  Him  to  have  been  in  the  company, 
went  a  day's  journey;  and  they  sought  Him  among  their  kinsfolk 
and  acquaintance.  And  when  they  found  Him  not,  they  turned 
back  again  to  Jerusalem,  seeking  Him."  LUKE  ii.  44  45 


^  m  ^E  reac*  of  the  Saviour  of  lost  things,  but 
m  «i  *n  t^le  storv  °*  t*16  finding  of  Jesus  in  the 

1  •  t  Temple  we  read  of  a  lost  Christ.  Some- 
\J|^r  body  says,  "Is  that  possible?  I  thought 
He  was  the  finder  of  lost  things." 

Yes,  He  is. 

"Then,  is  it  possible  to  lose  Jesus?" 

It  is  possible.  Alas,  that  so  many  who  have 
found  Him  have  found  Him  only  to  lose  Him  again ! 
Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest 
he  fall. 

The  most  unlikely  person  in  the  world  to  lose 
Jesus  was  Mary,  His  mother.  I  question  whether 
anybody  in  this  world  ever  loved  Him  as  Mary  did. 
I  question  whether  anybody  in  this  world  ever 
understood  Jesus,  and  misunderstood  Him,  as  she 
did. 

There  were  circles,  inner  circles,  relationships 
precious,  too  precious  for  words,  into  which  Mary 


SI  -r?9r?7 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


entered  with  Jesus  that  no  one  else  has  ever  shared 
with  her. 

But  Mary  lost  Him. 

There  were  fellowships,  fellowships  of  heart  and 
soul  and  mind,  which  Mary  had  with  Jesus  that 
no  one  else  has  ever  had,  that  no  one  else  will 
ever  altogether  understand. 

But  Mary  lost  Him. 

How  close  she  came  to  Jesus !  Her  very  life  was 
interwoven  with  His.  In  a  way  He  was  part  of  her ; 
in  a  way  she  was  part  of  Him.  And  yet  she  lost 
Him.  And  although  you  may  get  very  close  to 
Jesus,  you  will  lose  Him  too  if  you  are  not  careful — 
if  you  are  not  careful  over  what  you  handle;  if 
you  are  not  careful  about  the  paths  you  tread;  if 
you  are  not  careful  about  the  stories  you  give  your 
ear  to;  if  you  are  not  careful  about  the  stories 
you  repeat  and  the  things  you  talk  about;  if  you 
are  not  careful  about  the  things  you  allow  your 
eyes  to  become  fastened  upon ;  if  you  are  not  care- 
ful about  the  things  that  occupy  your  brain  and 
heart;  if  you  are  not  careful  about  your  com- 
panionships, about  your  friendships — if  you  are  not 
careful,  you  will  lose  Him.  You  will  lose  Him — 
it  may  be  that  you  have  lost  Him  already. 

You  may  love  Jesus;  you  may  love  Him  dearly; 
you  may  be  zealous  for  His  name  and  honour;  you 
may  be  concerned  about  His  glory  and  His  crown 


•'• 

TIU-:  ifreat  scientist  :m<!  tin 
uld    Mi.uhlim.l   MK-phcnl. 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


rights;  you  may  be  orthodox  and  fight  for  your 
orthodoxy;  you  may  be  a  very  religious  person; 
but  be  careful,  or  you  will  lose  Christ.  And  oh! 
the  misery  of  the  heart  that  has  lost  Christ !  Some 
will  not  understand  the  meaning  of  this,  the  tragedy 
of  losing  Christ,  but  that  is  because  they  have  never 
seen  Him,  that  is  because  they  have  never  looked 
upon  Him,  and  felt  His  touch,  and  known  His 
fellowship.  They  have  never  consecrated  their  lives 
to  Him.  Jesus  is  to  them  a  root  out  of  a  dry 
ground;  there  is  no  form  or  comeliness,  no  beauty 
in  Him  that  they  should  desire  Him.  They  have 
never  seen  Him;  the  god  of  this  world  has  blinded 
their  eyes.  But  there  are  some  who  will  under- 
stand, and  it  is  to  them  that  I  would  appeal.  Vision 
makes  the  difference.  They  have  seen  Him;  they 
know  what  it  is  to  work  with  Him ;  they  know  the 
joy,  of  fellowship,  and,  though  they  have  lost  it,  the 
memory  of  it  is  dearer  than  anything  else  in  God's 
world. 

Vision  makes  all  the  difference. 

A  friend  of  mine  tells  the  story  of  a  great  natural- 
ist and  scientist  who,  one  lovely  summer  day  years 
ago,  went  out  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  with 
his  microscope  to  study  the  heather-bell  in  all  its 
native  glory.  In  order  that  he  might  see  it  in  its 
perfection,  he  got  down  on  his  knees,  and  without 
plucking  the  flower,  adjusted  his  instrument,  and 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


was  soon  revelling  in  its  colour,  its  delicacy,  its 
beauty,  "lost  in  wonder,  love,  and  praise."  How 
long  he  stayed  there  he  does  not  know,  but  suddenly 
there  was  a  shadow  on  him  and  h:s  instrument. 
He  waited  for  a  time,  thinking  it  might  be  a  passing 
cloud.  But  it  stayed  there,  and  presently  he  looked 
up  over  his  shoulder,  and  there  was  an  old  Highland 
shepherd  watching  him.  Without  saying  a  word, 
he  plucked  the  little  heather-bell  and  handed  it,  with 
the  microscope,  to  the  shepherd,  that  he,  too,  might 
see  what  he  was  beholding.  And  the  old  shepherd 
put  the  instrument  up  to  his  eyes,  got  the  heather- 
bell  in  place,  and  looked  at  it  until  the  tears  ran 
down  his  face  like  bubbles  on  a  mountain-stream. 
And  then,  handing  back  the  little  heather-bell  ten- 
derly, he  said,  "Ay,  mon,  I  wish  ye  had  never  shown 
me  that.  I  wish  I  had  never  seen  it."  "Why?" 
asked  the  scientist.  "Because,"  he  said,  "these  rude 
feet  have  trodden  on  so  many  of  them." 

Vision  made  the  difference  there.  Wait  until  you 
have  washed  the  dust  out  of  your  eyes  with  water 
from  the  river  that  makes  glad  the  city  cf  God. 
Even  if  it  be  up  in  glory  with  the  redeemed,  how 
you  will  regret  that  you  have  lived  one  day  without 
Him. 

I  say  it  is  possible  to  lose  Him.  It  is  possible  to 
lose  Him  while  you  are  reading  these  lines.  I  may 
lose  Him  as  I  write,  even  as  I  preach,  though  it  is 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


the  last  thing  I  would  do.  But  I  know  the  possi- 
bility, for  I  know  something  about  this  wicked 
heart  of  mine.  I  know  its  subtlety;  I  know  its 
deceitfulness ;  and  we  are  no  longer  kept  than  we 
are  kept  by  God. 

I  know  of  no  worse  hell  than  to  lose  Christ,  and 
then  to  keep  up  the  appearance  that  you  have  Him ; 
to  keep  up  the  cant  and  mockery  of  religious  para- 
phernalia when  your  heart  has  lost  its  Christ.  There 
are  some  who  will  know  what  I  mean.  You  may 
be  a  preacher,  may  be  an  evangelist — and,  please 
remember,  that  I  have  put  myself  first — and  yet  may 
lose  Him. 

Not  only  did  the  most  unlikely  person  in  the  world 
become  the  first  to  lose  Jesus,  but  she  lost  Him 
and  did  not  know  it. 

Mary,  "supposing  Him  to  have  been  in  the  com- 
pany"— she  thought  He  was  there.  And  isn't  that 
the  danger  with  us  all?  We  take  too  much  for 
granted.  Very  often  we  allow  our  own  spiritual 
lives  to  go  in  our  anxiety  to  look  after  other  people. 
While  you  are  cultivating  the  wider  areas,  in 
Christ's  name,  look  after  your  own  little  patch.  Be 
sure  of  your  ground.  Religious  certainty  is  the  cer- 
tainty of  religion.  You  must  not  allow  your  soul's 
condition  and  needs  and  demands  and  life  and 
eternal  interests  to  live  on  supposition.  You  can- 
not afford  it.  Woe  be  to  you,  whoever  you  be,  if 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


you  take  things  for  granted!  You  do  not  do  that 
in  business.  No  man  is  a  success  who  does  not 
examine  his  books  and  strike  a  balance-sheet;  and 
unless  you  do  that,  and  unless  I  do  that,  every  day 
of  my  life,  I  shall  soon  be  a  backslider. 

The  communions  of  yesterday,  the  fellowship  of 
the  day  before,  the  victories  of  a  week  ago,  my 
first  view  of  my  Lord  thirty  years  ago — all  these 
are  very  blessed,  but  they  will  not  serve  for  to-day. 
I  must  find  a  new  Saviour  every  morning.  I  must 
see  new  beauty  in  Him  every  time  I  turn  my  eyes 
to  Him.  Because  I  know  there  is  danger,  I  pray 
every  morning: 

Dear  Lord,  it  is  better  that  I 

Should  go  through  the  world  with  one  eye, 

If  Thou,  Light  and  Guide,  be  but  nigh. 

It  is  better,  O  Saviour  Divine, 

To  lose  this  right  hand  of  mine, 

If  Thou  hold  but  the  other  in  Thine. 

Thou  only  canst  make  me  complete ; 
And  to  limp  by  Thy  side  were  more  sweet 
Than  walking  alone  on  both  feet. 

I  would  rather  lose  wife,  and  children,  and  father, 
and  loved  ones,  and  friends,  and  everybody  and 
everything  in  God's  world,  than  lose  my  Lord.  I 
must  have  Him.  There  must  be  no  supposition 
about  it.  I  must  be  sure.  I  must  stand  on  solid 
ground,  not  on  the  crumbling  edges  of  a  precipice. 

10 


-1.    IV  '.-.I'-    Ciilhrdv;:!.    ;ill(l    M.    1'aul'.-    Cathedral 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


She  supposed  He  was  in  the  company,  and  was 
not  the  company  religious?  Had  this  company 
not  been  up  to  the  annual  conference,  the  great 
Temple  festival?  You  need  not  be  an  extravagant 
sinner  to  lose  Him.  You  can  lose  Him  at  a  conven- 
tion, at  a  prayer-meeting.  Don't  you  see  that  when 
God  flashes  His  light  upon  you,  when  God  gives 
illumination,  when  God  opens  His  hidden  things 
to  you,  and  you  have  the  vision  and  don't  obey, 
you  are  a  bigger  sinner  than  if  you  had  never  seen? 
Mary  was  in  the  company  of  religious  people,  and 
yet  she  lost  Christ,  and  did  not  know  it.  Samson 
wist  not  that  the  Lord  had  departed  from  him.  In 
Revelation  there  is  a  description  of  a  church  that 
had  lost  Him  and  didn't  know  it — a  very  aristo- 
cratic church,  a  very  cultured  church,  a  very  rich 
church,  a  church  that  had  great  social  prestige. 
You  cannot  suggest  a  thing  that  the  members  of 
this  church  lacked ;  and  they  were  so  well  contented 
with  themselves  that  they  passed  a  resolution  that 
said,  "We  are  rich,  we  have  gotten  riches,  we  have 
need  of  nothing."  And  God  looked  down  upon 
them,  and  said,  "You  poor,  blind,  miserable,  wretch- 
ed things !  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock." 

But,  you  say,  "Was  not  that  said  to  sinners,  to 
the  sinner's  heart?" 

No,  it  was  said  at  the  door  of  a  church  that  had 
lost  Christ;  and  I  know  of  churches  in  all  parts 

11 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


of  the  world  where,  if  Jesus  Christ  came  and  offered 
Himself  with  a  view  to  becoming  their  pastor,  He 
would  be  voted  out. 

Is  it  not  time  that  we  stopped  playing  at  religion 
and  began  to  live  it?  Is  it  not  time  that  we  showed 
to  the  people  outside  the  churches  that  we  mean 
business?  Thousands  have  the  building,  the  order 
of  service,  the  truth,  the  songs  of  Zion,  and  every- 
thing which  should  "accompany  salvation" — but  the 
vital  thing  is  absent. 

In  one  of  my  missions  a  young  fellow  came  to 
me,  a  fine  character  who  had  been  put  in  a  most 
prominent  place  in  that  mission.  He  it  was  who 
was  delegated  to  take  the  hand  of  every  inquirer 
and  say  the  last  word  of  advice  and  counsel.  He 
stood  it  from  Monday  to  Saturday,  and  on  Saturday 
evening  he  said  to  me:  "Mr.  Smith,  I  want  to  see 
you.  You  don't  go  out  on  Sunday  morning,  do 
you?" 

I  said,  "No,  I  rest  then,  unless  I  go  to  church; 
but  I  usually  stay  in  to  get  a  little  quiet.  What  do 
you  want  to  see  me  about?"  I  thought  he  wanted 
to  see  me  about  some  special  case. 

He  said,  "About  my  own  soul." 

"Why,"  I  said,  "what  is  the  trouble?" 

He  said,  "I  am  not  converted;  I  have  never  been 
born  again." 

"My  brother,"  I  said,  "what  does  it  mean?" 

12 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


He  said,  "My  parents  supposed  I  was  a  Christian, 
and  urged  me  to  join  the  church,  and  I  did  so.  My 
pastor  supposed  I  was  a  Christian,  and  I  was  made 
a  Sunday  School  teacher,  and  an  officer  in  the 
church.  Because  they  supposed  and  kept  on  sup- 
posing, nobody  has  ever  looked  me  in  the  eye  and 
said,  "Harry,  are  you  right  with  God?" 

Don't  we  all  do  that?  Some  never  really  know. 
They  are  always  supposing. 

She  supposed  He  was  in  the  company — and  what 
is  the  company  of  a  king  if  Jesus  be  absent?  My 
gipsy  tent,  if  Jesus  be  in  it,  is  as  grand  as  St.  Paul's 
Cathedral,  and  St.  Paul's  Cathedral  is  nothing  but 
a  glorified  quarry  without  Jesus.  It  is  Christ  who 
makes  the  temple. 

Not  only  did  the  most  unlikely  person  in  the 
world  become  the  first  to  lose  Him,  and  not  only 
did  she  lose  Him  and  not  know  it,  but  she  lost  Him 
in  the  most  unlikely  place.  Where?  Not  at  the 
theatre,  not  playing  cards,  not  dancing  half  the  night 
and  mixing  with  an  ungodly  crowd,  not  running 
with  the  giddy  multitude  to  do  evil,  not  at  a  summer 
resort,  not  by  being  bad-tempered  and  cross,  not 
because  she  was  proud  and  haughty,  not  because 
she  was  backbiting  her  neighbours,  not  because 
she  was  loving  the  world  and  thinking  more  about 
the  trinkets  on  her  fingers  than  she  did  about  her 
soul  and  the  interests  of  her  Son  Christ.  Remember 

13 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


who  she  was.  She  was  the  holiest  woman  that 
ever  breathed,  the  purest  soul  that  God  ever  made 
in  the  form  of  woman.  But  she  lost  Christ. 

She  lost  Him  at  the  service  in  the  Temple,  among 
holy  things,  in  a  holy  atmosphere,  amid  holy 
surroundings.  Oh  God,  save  us  from  mockery! 
Some  one  will  have  to  rise,  some  twentieth-century 
John  the  Baptist,  some  Martin  Luther,  some  fire- 
brand who  does  not  care  for  anything  that  may 
be  done  to  him,  and  he  will  have  to  be  prepared 
to  lose  his  head  in  calling  the  Church  of  God  to 
a  halt.  Somebody  will  do  it,  and  God  knows 
that  I  would  be  willing  to  lose  my  head  if  I  could 
call  men  successfully  back  to  the  Christ  from 
whom  they  have  wandered.  A  Church  without 
Christ  is  a  mockery. 

You  may  lose  Him  at  church.  Be  careful. 
There  are  far  more  people  lose  Christ  at  church 
than  you  would  dream  of.  People  see  visions 
there,  and  they  refuse  to  obey.  That  is  the  time 
when  they  lose  Him.  God  speaks  through  His 
servants.  He  says  to  you:  "My  child  this  is 
the  way,  this  is  the  duty,  this  is  the  cross,  this  is 
the  sacrifice,  this  is  the  thing  I  want  you  to  do, 
this  is  the  soul  I  want  you  to  save,  this  is  the  glory 
I  mean  you  to  win  for  My  name,  this  is  the  service 
I  want  you  to  rise  up  to  undertake  and  accomplish 
in  My  name."  You  look  at  it.  You  consider 


14 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


ways  and  means.  It  will  cost  you  too  much. 
You  go  away  and  you  have  lost  Him  in  the  Temple. 
Do  you  forget  that  the  devil  entered  into  Judas 
at  the  Communion-table?  The  devil  is  almost  as 
near  to  your  soul  as  the  Master,  and  he  has  desired 
to  have  you  and  sift  you  as  wheat.  The  forces  of 
evil  are  working  for  your  soul,  and  your  only  safety 
is  the  cross  of  Calvary.  The  devil  will  follow  you 
to  the  grave.  He  will  not  give  up  the  struggle 
till  he  is  beaten. 

Where  did  you  lose  Him?  Was  it  in  the  city? 
Was  it  at  the  sea-shore,  when  you  went  on  your 
vacation?  It  is  astonishing  what  people  think 
they  can  do  with  impunity  when  they  are  away 
from  home.  Don't  you  know  where  you  parted 
with  your  Lord?  Don't  you  know  the  thing  you 
have  done,  the  word  that  was  said,  the  letter  that 
you  wrote?  You  know,  and  God  knows.  And 
you  will  have  to  do  what  Mary  did.  You  will  have 
to  go  back  and  find  Him  where  you  lost  Him. 

When  first  I  began  to  preach  I  was  only  a  boy, 
and  a  man  who  bears  a  very  honoured  name  in  the 
Christian  world  to-day  took  me  aside  soon  after 
I  had  left  my  gipsy  tent,  and  said,  "I  suppose  you 
take  a  few  minutes  each  night  before  you  sleep 
to  get  on  your  knees  and  square  up  for  the  day." 
I  said,  "No,  I  don't.  I  dare  not."  "What  do 
you  mean?"  said  he.  I  replied,  "I  have  to  square 

15 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


up  as  I  go  along.  If  I  waited  till  night  my  burden 
would  crush  me.  I  dare  not  wait  a  day.  Three 
days  would  kill  me.  I  have  to  go  to  God  every 
moment;  moment  by  moment."  Mary  was  three 
days  without  Him!  How  long  have  you  been 
without  Him?  Three  days?  Three  weeks?  Three 
months?  Three  years?  O,  my  God,  without  Thee! 
A  soul  without  God,  without  Christ,  and  without 
hope!  Why,  that  must  be  a  foretaste  of  hell,  for  I 
can  conceive  of  no  worse  hell  than  the  loss  of  Jesus 
Christ. 

I  once  spoke  from  this  text  in  a  great  American 
city,  where  there  were  six  or  seven  hundred  pastors 
around  me,  and  two  days  afterwards  I  received 
a  letter,  and  I  could  hear  sighs  and  see  tears  in 
every  syllable.  The  letter  began  by  saying:  "I 
am  a  pastor  of  a  big  church,  but  I  have  lost  my 
Christ.  Oh,  the  hell  of  trying  to  preach  Christ  when 
you  have  lost  Him!  But,"  the  writer  continued, 
"I  will  promise  you  this :  I  will  never  preach  again 
until  I  have  found  Him.  I  need  not  tell  you  my 
name,  but  I  write  this  for  your  encouragement." 

I  beg  of  you  not  to  do  any  more  Christian  work 
until  you  find  Him.  Your  first  business  is  to  get 
right  with  God.  You  will  have  to  go  back.  It  will 
not  be  easy.  Mary  had  to  tramp  all  the  way  back  to 
Jerusalem — one  day  away  from  Him,  three  days 
to  find  Him.  And  when  she  found  Him  she  said: 


16 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


"Why  have  you  served  me  like  this?" 
He  answered:  "Do  you  not  know?" 
Do  not  blame  Him  for  you  own  sin  or  the  misery 
which  is  the  result  of  sin.  You  left  Him.  He  never 
left  you.  If  He  did  He  would  be  breaking  His 
promise:  "I  am  with  you  alway."  You  will  have 
to  go  back.  David  said:  "When  I  kept  silence,  my 
bones  waxed  old  through  my  roaring  all  the  day 
long.  For  day  and  night  Thy  hand  was  heavy  upon 
me:  my  moisture  is  turned  into  the  drought  of 
summer.  I  acknowledged  my  sin  unto  Thee,  and 
mine  iniquity  have  I  not  hid."  David  was  right. 
He  knew  where  his  own  misery  came  from,  and  he 
knew  how  to  get  right  with  God. 

Where  did  the  Prodigal  find  his  father?  Just 
where  he  left  him — in  the  old  home.  He  had  to 
come  home,  and  it  is  this  coming  home  we  shrink 
from.  Mary  and  Joseph  found  Jesus  just  where 
they  had  left  Him.  He  was  waiting  there.  Love 
always  waits,  and  only  waits  to  forgive  and  forget. 
I  do  not  know  how  anybody  can  stay  away  from 
the  love  of  God. 

It  may  be  you  have  a  confession  to  make.  Make 
it.  It  may  be  that  you  will  have  to  go  and  say  to 
somebody:  "Forgive  me."  Go  and  say  it,  and  settle 
the  thing.  It  may  be  that  you  will  have  to  wash 
stripes  that  you  have  put  on.  Go  and  do  it.  And 
remember  that  the  jailor  did  not  wait  until  morning 

17 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


— he  did  it  the  same  hour  of  the  night.     Stripe- 
washing  for  the  jailor  was  faith  in  Christ. 

Have  you  lost  Him?  Then  you  must  come  back 
to  the  spot,  to  the  hour,  to  the  thing,  and  talk  to 
God  about  that  very  thing.  Mary  had  to  go  back  to 
the  Temple.  And  if  you  are  to  find  Him  you  must 
go  back  to  where  you  left  Him.  When  I  was  in 
South  Africa  a  fine,  handsome  Dutchman,  over  six 
feet  high,  came  into  my  service  and  God  laid  His 
hand  on  him  and  convicted  him  of  sin,  and  the  next 
morning  he  went  to  the  beautiful  home  of  another 
Dutchman  and  said  to  him:  "Do  you  know  that 
gold  watch?"  "Why,  yes,"  said  the  other,  "those 
are  my  initials;  that  is  my  watch.  I  lost  it  eight 
years  ago.  How  did  you  get  it,  and  how  long  have 
you  had  it?"  "I  stole  it,"  was  the  reply.  "But  you 
were  my  friend?"  "I  stole  it,  and  have  worn  it." 
"What  made  you  bring  it  back  now?"  "I  was  con- 
verted last  night,"  said  the  other,  "and  I  have 
brought  it  back  first  thing  this  morning.  If  you 
had  been  up  I  should  have  brought  it  last  night." 

Do  you  think  you  can  cover  up  a  wrong?  You 
cannot  cover  up  a  manure-heap  with  snow  and  ex- 
pect God  to  call  it  clean.  That  is  not  God's  plan. 
He  doesn't  white-wash  you :  He  washes  you  white. 
He  doesn't  put  a  clean  robe  over  a  lot  of  filth  and 
say  it  is  clean.  He  never  says  it  is  clean  until  all 
the  filthiness  is  washed  away.  He  will  cleanse  you, 


18 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


and  take  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh  and  give 
you  a  heart  of  flesh. 

Are  you  prepared  to  go  back?  Are  you  willing 
to  take  back  that  unkind  word,  that  slanderous, 
libellous  word?  Are  you  willing  to  tear  up  that 
letter  in  your  pocket  that  you  know  you  have  no 
right  to  possess?  Are  you  willing  to  break  off  that 
unlawful  friendship?  You  will  have  to  do  it  if  you 
want  to  find  Him.  I  know  it  is  not  easy.  It  means 
aching  feet  and  an  aching  heart.  It  may  mean  a 
bleeding  heart,  but  you  will  have  to  do  it  if  you 
want  peace. 

Some  years  ago,  in  opening  a  great  campaign  in 
the  Chicago  Auditorium,  I  spoke  from  this  text. 
One  of  the  city  pastors  was  called  up  afterwards  on 
the  telephone.  A  man  rang  him  up  and  said:  "I 
want  to  see  you.  I  must  see  you.  Will  you  come 
to  my  rooms  at  once?" 

The  man  was  a  rich  bachelor,  a  member  of  his 
church.  When  the  pastor  came  he  said :  "I  heard 
that  man  preach  yesterday,  and  he  told  me  I  must 
find  Christ  where  I  lost  Him,  and  I  want  to  find 
Him."  His  tears  were  flowing  like  rain. 

The  pastor  said,  "That  should  be  easy." 

He  replied,  "It  won't  be  easy  for  me.  I  have 
done  things  that  the  people  of  this  city  know  noth- 
ing about.  But  God  knows,  and  I  know.  Listen! 
There  is  a  sweet-faced,  beautiful  girl  lying  yonder 

19 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


in  a  dishonoured  grave,  and  there  are  two  little 
children,  a  boy  and 'a  girl,  who  are  in  a  home  for 
foundlings  because  I  hadn't  manhood  enough  to 
own  them  and  give  them  my  name.  And,"  said  he, 
"you  know,  doctor,  it  strikes  me,  if  I  am  to  find 
Christ  I  will  have  to  find  those  children  and  bring 
them  here  and  let  the  people  know  they  are  mine." 

The  minister  said,  "Yes,  it  means  that." 

Religion  is  not  a  fire-escape  for  you  while  it 
allows  your  victims  to  go  to  the  devil.  If  your  re- 
ligion does  not  help  you  to  live  right  you  do  not 
know  the  real  thing. 

God  pity  the  child  that  comes  into  the  world 
through  the  wrong  door!  God  pity  the  children 
that  do  not  know  any  parent!  If  I  know  anything 
about  the  heart  of  my  Lord  the  Church  must  not 
be  the  first  to  turn  its  back  upon,  and  shut  its  door 
against,  such  a  little  child.  The  Church  should  be 
the  first  to  open  its  arms.  But  we  don't  do  that. 
We  kick  the  poor  thing  that  is  wronged  and  down- 
trodden and  damn  her  to  the  nethermost  hell,  while 
we  flatter  and  fondle  the  devil  who  wronged  her  if 
he  is  able  to  ride  in  an  automobile.  That  is  not 
Bible  religion.  My  Lord  says  to  such  women: 
"Thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee."  O  Master,  give  us  all 
Thy  spirit  of  love  for  the  lost! 

Jesus  had  a  wonderful  place  in  his  heart  for  the 
lost  and  the  last  and  the  least.  Isn't  that  true?  He 

20 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


loved  them,  and  the  Church  should  exist  to  save 
them;  and  when  it  doesn't  it  is  no  Church. 

My  friend  said,  "It  means  that." 

The  rich  man  replied :  "I  can  do  nothing  for  her 
now,  but  I  am  going  to  send  a  message  to  that 
distant  state  for  the  little  ones." 

He  discovered  that  the  little  girl  had  joined  her 
mother,  and  the  little  boy  was  with  a  farmer.  He 
knew  these  people  were  not  his  parents,  and  the 
poor  little  fellow  longed  for  love.  But  it  never 
came  to  him.  They  brought  him  to  the  big  city, 
and  the  rich  man  sat  down  in  a  chair,  and  took  the 
little  boy  on  his  knee  and  said : 

"My  boy,  would  you  like  to  see  your  father?" 

The  little  fellow  said,  "I  don't  know,  sir." 

"Do  you  think  you  could  love  him,  even  though 
he  did  you  and  your  mother  a  great  wrong?" 

And  the  poor  little  fellow  said,  "I  don't  know, 
sir." 

"Well,"  he  said,  "look  about  you.  Do  you  think 
you  could  be  happy  if  you  lived  here  with  me?" 

He  said,  "I  don't  know,  sir." 

Somewhere  there  the  father's  heart  had  a  resur- 
rection, and  he  cried:  "Put  you  arms  round  my 
neck,  hold  me  tight,  and  call  me  father,  though  I 
don't  deserve  the  name!" 

Turning  to  the  preacher,  he  said:  "I  have  found 
Christ  in  rinding  my  child!" 

21 


THE  LOST  CHRIST 


We  shall  find  Jesus  where  we  lost  Him.  If  we 
will  only  go  back  there  we  shall  find  Him,  for  He  is 
not  far  from  any  one  of  us.  He  is  ready  to  forgive, 
and  blot  out  the  past— more  ready  than  we  are  to 
ask  Him. 

He  who  said,  "Return  unto  Me— I  will  heal  their 
backsliding,  I  will  love  them  freely,"  will  allow  no 
broken  heart  to  seek  Him  in  vain. 

To  His  love,  His  pardon,  His  cleansing,  there 
are  no  limits.  His  grace  is  greater  than  our  sin. 
Oh,  sad,  weary,  sinful  soul,  bow  before  Him  now 
in  penitence  and  faith,  and  you  will  know  that  He 
is  slow  to  anger  and  plenteous  in  mercy. 


22 


SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

405  Hilgard  Avenue,  Los  Angeles,  CA  90024-1388 

Return  this  material  to  the  library 

from  which  it  was  borrowed. 


• 


OCT  2 


- 


GAYLAMOUNT 
[PAMPHLET  BINDER 

Monuf  octur«d  by 
^YLORD  BROS.  Inc. 

SyrocuM,  N.Y. 

Stockton  '"-"• 


A     001  145  962     5 


Un 


